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At NAMM 2020, the Focusrite ISA 828 MkII Microphone Preamp goes into the second round and has two options with the ISA ADN2 and ISA ADN8 digital cards.
The Focusrite ISA 828 MkII retains the blue, gray and yellow of the legendary Focusrite studio console, and the front doesn’t look much different. The key data of one of the best-known preamplifier remain the same. The only major “analog” change is the renewed power supply. The new switching power supply generates less heat and uses less electricity.
The ISA 828 MkII is an eight-channel microphone preamp with mic, line, and instrument connections that offer an updated power supply, which provides more efficient power consumption at lower temperatures. It is compatible with Dante networks, should you load it with the separately available ISA ADN8 card.
The pre amp makes use of a Lundahl LL1538 input transformer to give you the sound of the original classic Focusrite preamps. The microphone input stage provides a variable impedance circuit. The gain range is a very healthy 80 dB, making the unit suitable for use with low-output dynamic and ribbon microphones.
Focusrite ISA ADN2 is a digital card that works with two channels and depending on the output format (S / PDIF coax. And electrical, AES / EBU and Dante) with up to 192 kHz at 24 bits.
It can provide high-quality analog-to-digital conversion for the ISA One microphone preamp and DI. The Dante outputs provide network connectivity to all Focusrite RedNet devices and Red interfaces, as well as any other Dante-enabled devices. Routing is configured using Dante Controller, while metering and settings are accessed through RedNet Control.
The digital option Focusrite ISA ADN8 is more extensive, which can output eight-channel AES3 via DB25 and Dante and has S / MUX-capable ADAT-Outs. Of course, the Rednet can be used via AOIP.
Both cards have in common that they can be supplied with Word Clock I/O on BNC connectors allows synchronization to multiple digital sources.
